Counties with the highest unemployment in Texas
While today's unemployment rates are significantly lower than the COVID-19 pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, the fear of job losses remains as workers stare down an uncertain economic future.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Texas using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in February 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Experts are mixed in their views of a potential recession. The return of student loan payments, continually high gas prices, persistent inflation, and insurance price escalations are just a few of the factors that could limit consumer spending and potentially prompt another recession.
The last economic recession before the pandemic—the Great Recession of 2007-09—sent unemployment rates up to 10% as of October 2009, and a full recovery took years.
But as of March 2024, the national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 3.8%—down slightly from the previous month. Regional and state employment varies widely depending on local economies. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 2% in North Dakota to 5.3% in California.
Read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Texas.
#50. Swisher County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,577 people (131 unemployed)
#49. San Augustine County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,461 people (178 unemployed)
#48. Leon County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,524 people (332 unemployed)
#47. San Jacinto County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,947 people (666 unemployed)
#46. Kleberg County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,539 people (697 unemployed)
#45. Walker County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,638 people (1,250 unemployed)
#44. Coleman County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,106 people (162 unemployed)
#43. Panola County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,827 people (510 unemployed)
#42. Cherokee County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 20,831 people (1,073 unemployed)
#41. Chambers County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 21,994 people (1,151 unemployed)
#40. Donley County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,458 people (77 unemployed)
#39. Hardeman County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,731 people (91 unemployed)
#38. Floyd County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,482 people (132 unemployed)
#37. Wilbarger County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,044 people (265 unemployed)
#36. Hutchinson County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,682 people (463 unemployed)
#35. Matagorda County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,474 people (934 unemployed)
#34. Waller County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 26,903 people (1,434 unemployed)
#33. Trinity County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,340 people (287 unemployed)
#32. Bee County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,484 people (516 unemployed)
#31. Cass County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,132 people (660 unemployed)
#30. Harrison County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 28,471 people (1,544 unemployed)
#29. Real County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,115 people (61 unemployed)
#28. Bailey County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,332 people (128 unemployed)
#27. Freestone County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,744 people (371 unemployed)
#26. Jim Wells County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,213 people (893 unemployed)
#25. Dickens County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 594 people (33 unemployed)
#24. Jim Hogg County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,913 people (107 unemployed)
#23. Hale County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,516 people (652 unemployed)
#22. Orange County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 36,080 people (2,051 unemployed)
#21. Polk County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,444 people (1,129 unemployed)
#20. Kenedy County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 2.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 134 people (8 unemployed)
#19. Liberty County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 36,887 people (2,129 unemployed)
#18. Eastland County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,433 people (378 unemployed)
#17. Cameron County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 184,141 people (10,670 unemployed)
#16. Presidio County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,044 people (187 unemployed)
#15. Jefferson County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 104,560 people (6,358 unemployed)
#14. Brooks County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,300 people (142 unemployed)
#13. Hidalgo County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 383,558 people (23,783 unemployed)
#12. Morris County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,576 people (288 unemployed)
#11. Sutton County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,031 people (67 unemployed)
#10. Tyler County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,102 people (450 unemployed)
#9. Jasper County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,342 people (825 unemployed)
#8. Sabine County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,456 people (235 unemployed)
#7. Val Verde County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 2.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 22,344 people (1,513 unemployed)
#6. Newton County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,066 people (358 unemployed)
#5. Zavala County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,580 people (277 unemployed)
#4. Zapata County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,590 people (362 unemployed)
#3. Willacy County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,212 people (571 unemployed)
#2. Maverick County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,669 people (2,254 unemployed)
#1. Starr County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,809 people (2,508 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
